Ranking the Best All-Stars in Montreal Canadiens History

The Montreal Canadiens have a storied history that includes countless All-Stars who have played in the game since it was held during the 1947-48 season. 

The Habs have had so many great players that it's almost unfair to try and rank the best All-Stars, but we're going to try anyway, taking into account All-Star Game appearances, career stats and accomplishments. 

Here are the top five Montreal Canadiens All-Stars in the history of the organization. 

5. Jacques Plante

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Jacques Plante

Jacques Plante easily gets the nod as the best All-Star goalie for the Canadiens, having played in eight All-Star Games in his 11 seasons with Montreal. By comparison with other great Habs netminders, Patrick Roy appeared in six games as a Canadien, while Ken Dryden played in five.

Plante is the all-time Montreal leader in games played by a goaltender with 556. His 314 wins are also tops, while his GAA of 2.23 is second among those with 50 or more games played. 

He won the Stanley Cup six times during the 1950s, including four straight from 1956-1960. He also received the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender six times and even the Hart Trophy for MVP in 1961-62.

Plante was one of the best goaltenders to ever suit up for the red, white and blue and deserves to be named the top All-Star goaltender.  

4. Larry Robinson

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Larry Robinson

Larry Robinson, one of the best offensive defensemen to ever suit up for the Habs, appeared in 10 All-Star games in his 17 years with the Canadiens. 

After putting up 61 points in his second full season as a pro, Robinson would record 40 or more points for the next 13 straight seasons, even reaching 85 in 1976-77, his best statistical season. 

His 883 career points leads Canadiens defensemen and are 311 more than the second guy on the list. His 197 goals are also tops among Montreal rearguards. 

Robinson won six Stanley Cups with Montreal and took home the Norris Trophy twice in 1976-77 and 1979-80. He's the best Canadiens All-Star defenseman. 

3. Guy Lafleur

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Guy Lafleur

Guy Lafleur, the all-time Canadiens leader in scoring, appeared in the NHL All-Star Game 10 times in his 17-year career. 

Lafleur played 14 of those seasons in Montreal, where he amassed an amazing 1,246 points in 961 regular-season games. His 518 goals are second to only Maurice Richard and his 728 assists are best in team history. 

He's a five-time Stanley Cup winner, picking up the Conn Smythe in 1976-77. He also won the Hart Trophy twice, the Art Ross Trophy three times and the Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player three times. 

Lafleur is a Canadiens legend and deserves the No. 3 spot on this list of best All-Stars. 

2. Maurice Richard

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Maurice Richard

Over his 18-year career, Maurice Richard was named to 14 straight All-Star Games, appearing in 13. One look at his stats and it's no wonder why. 

The Rocket was flat out the best goal scorer of his time. He scored 30 or more goals nine times in his career, surpassing 40 goals in five of those seasons. He was also the first NHLer to score 50 in a season when he did so in 1944-45, just his second full season in the league. 

He tops the list of Canadiens goal scorers with 544 in 978 games. He also added 421 assists for 965 career points, good for fourth on the all-time Canadiens list. 

Richard won the Stanley Cup eight times and the Hart Trophy in 1946-47. He comes in at a close second on the Habs list of best All-Stars. 

1. Jean Beliveau

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Jean Beliveau

Jean Beliveau appeared in 13 All-Star Games in his amazing career that spanned 18 full seasons. That's just one of his many incredible accomplishments. 

Others include winning 10 Stanley Cups as a player and seven more as an executive, being named league MVP twice, leading the league in scoring in 1956 and winning the inaugural Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1965. 

Statistically, he's the second all-time leading scorer in Canadiens history with 1,219 points. He sits third in goals scored with 507 and second in assists with 712. 

Beliveau is not just the top Montreal Canadiens All-Star—he's one of the best in hockey history.

All stats and historical information from OurHistory.Canadiens.com. 

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